BC-AS--Asian News Digest, AS

October 19, 2014

ASIA:

KOREAS-TENSION

SEOUL, South Korea — Troops from the rival Koreas exchange gunfire along their heavily fortified border in the second such shooting in less than 10 days, South Korean officials say. There are no reports of injuries or property damage, but the 10 minutes of shooting highlights rising tensions between the divided countries. By Hyung-Jin Kim. SENT: 545 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES-US-KILLING

OLONGAPO, Philippines — Inside a funeral parlor, a Filipino mother sits and weeps next to a coffin containing the body of her daughter and demands answers. On a hulking American assault ship moored at a nearby port sits a man who might have them — a U.S. Marine local authorities suspect in the brutal slaying at a cheap hotel more than a week ago. By Jim Gomez. UPCOMING: 1,120 words by 1400 GMT, photos.

NEPAL-AVALANCHE

KATMANDU, Nepal — Nepalese officials close a section of a popular Himalayan trekking route after rescuers, overwhelmed with last week’s snowstorms that killed 38 hikers, had to bring to safety new climbers who set out on the same mountain trails where the blizzards struck. By Binaj Gurubacharya. SENT: 415 words, photos, audio.

CHINA-LEGAL REFORMS

BEIJING — The most important meeting of the year for the 205 members of China’s ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee, beginning Monday, will focus on how to rule the country in accordance with law. That has fed hopes that the party might move to respect the letter and spirit of the constitution, but some legal experts and political analysts say the country’s leaders are intent on expanding power, not limiting it. By Didi Tang. SENT: 885 words, photos.

— CHINA-MARATHON POLLUTION — Despite heavy pollution blanketing Beijing on Sunday, an international marathon has gone ahead, with face masks and sponges among the equipment used by competitors to battle the smog. SENT: 495 words, photos.

— CHINA-BEAR ATTACK — A bear in central China has bitten off the arm of a 9-year-old boy who tried to feed it through its cage, state media and a doctor say. SENT: 110 words.

INDIA-STATE ELECTIONS

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party appears poised to make huge election gains in two Indian states, according to partial results. SENT: XY words, photos.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE:

INDIA-FUEL REFORMS

NEW DELHI — India has freed diesel prices from government control while raising natural gas tariffs in the biggest-yet reform by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, as it aims to boost the country’s economy and overhaul its energy sector. The decision on diesel targets one of India’s costliest subsidies for one of the world’s dirtiest fuels. By Katy Daigle. SENT: 655 words.

U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL:

EBOLA-AFRICA’S IMAGE

JOHANNESBURG — In the United States, some parents fearful of deadly Ebola pull children out of a school after the principal returned from Zambia, an African nation far from the area hit by the disease. In Geneva, a top U.N. official warns against anti-African discrimination fueled by fears of Ebola. The disease is ravaging a small part of Africa, but the international image of the whole continent is increasingly under siege, reinforcing some old stereotypes. By Christopher Torchia. UPCOMING: 650 words by 1700 GMT, photos.

— EBOLA-CRUISE SHIP — A cruise ship carrying a Dallas health care worker who is being monitored for signs of Ebola returned to port in Texas. SENT: 330 words, photo.

SURUC, Turkey — Turkey would not agree to any U.S. arms transfers to Kurdish fighters who are battling Islamic militants in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying, as the extremist group fires more mortar rounds near the Syrian-Turkish border. By Elena Becatoros and Suzan Fraser. SENT: 585 words, photos.

VATICAN-PAUL IV

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding the remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented. By Nicole Winfield. SENT: 675 words, photos, video.

— VATICAN-PAUL IV-5 THINGS TO KNOW — 5 Things to Know about Pope Paul VI, beatified Sunday at the end of a major meeting on family. SENT: 670 words, photos.

SWEDEN-SUBMARINE SEARCH

HELSINKI — A Swedish military search for evidence of suspected undersea activity in its waters has entered its third day amid reports of a suspected Russian intrusion. SENT: 130 words, photos.

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